Constituents float ideas on new legislation

HAMPTON BEACH — Hampton's five representatives in state government took suggestions from their constituents Thursday, and they heard about everything from texting while driving to sea-level rise.

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By Nick B. Reid

seacoastonline.com

By Nick B. Reid

Posted Sep. 3, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Nick B. Reid

Posted Sep. 3, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

HAMPTON BEACH — Hampton's five representatives in state government took suggestions from their constituents Thursday, and they heard about everything from texting while driving to sea-level rise.

Selectman Mary-Louise Woolsey was the first of seven people to speak at the forum with the town's senator, Nancy Stiles, and its four representatives, Fred Rice, Tracy Emerick, Renny Cushing and Chris Muns.

Different members of the community came up to say there needs to be more state aid for special education, more programs to help people convert to natural gas, more attention to sea-level rise and storm surges, stricter consideration of food allergies in schools, more bath houses on the beach and no more drivers using cellphones.

Bruce Casassa said the amount of head-on car collisions this summer "has really gone crazy" and he attributes that to people using handheld devices while driving. He said the law needs to change because "the electronic driving community doesn't seem to want to police themselves."

"I have no problem with people using these devices. I just don't want to meet them going head-to-head on a highway," Casassa said.

Rice said a similar bill failed last session, as some argued driving with a cellphone is "no more distracting than eating a Big Mac or talking to somebody in the front seat."

"If you add all those together including combing the hair and having breakfast ...; I don't care who it is, that person can't stay focused," Casassa said.

Woolsey brought her concern about the "silly" people who venture out onto the state's jetty and hurt themselves before the group, wondering if there's any way Hampton might be able to fine people who require rescue from that area.

Woolsey said the people requiring rescue on the state jetty are "putting (first responders') lives at risk" and "costing taxpayers money." She said the state Department of Fish and Game is the only authority that can issue fines there and wished the town could do so as well to recoup the costs of sending police and fire personnel to save people.

"I'd be tempted, if people are silly enough to go out and get in trouble, to tell them to swim home or swim across to the other side but that's not how it works," Woolsey said, noting that the only way to get through to these people is to "hit them in the pocketbook."

Stiles said she and her peers would have to work with the federal government to determine what avenue can be taken to address the issue, since the land belongs to the state but the waterway is under federal control.

Rice said if legislation is attempted at the state level, there might be some kickback from people who don't want any of their rights taken away. He said people will say: "This is Live Free or Die. I've got the right to go out on that jetty. It's public property. My tax dollars pay for it."

"You're going to get that," Rice said.

Woolsey also recommended a push to ensure the secretary of state has the authority to "enforce the laws on the books as stringently as possible" when it comes to oversight of the Local Government Center (LGC), the embattled municipal insurer that's in a court fight with its regulator, the secretary of state's Bureau of Securities Regulation (BSR).

She said when a BSR representative went into the LGC to do an audit, the LGC would only let him in by himself and accompanied at all times by an LGC official, even to the bathroom. She said that doesn't see that as a good way for the LGC to be regulated.

Muns said he's been contacted to look into lowering the level of noise produced by motorcycles. He said the law was changed as recently as 2012 but that "really hasn't done much" because the noise is measured while the vehicle is idle, not when it's revving the throttle. The limit used to be 106 decibels but was reduced to 92 decibels, which is still higher than many other states, Muns said.

Cushing said he's going to ensure there's a greater commitment to promoting New Hampshire-brewed beers in the state, since it's a "brewery host."